Bedframe with decorative trim strip



1970 N. A. TAMBASCIO BEDFRAME WITH DECORATIVE TRIM STRIP.

Filed Jan. 22, 1969 M 7 m. 1 T0 5 5 4 m a V N G WM R n A W T A 5 8 MY. OB K m w 4 G F 8 9 .7 r 4 3 United States Patent m US. Cl. 5-200 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The invention comprises a bedframe having side rails of an L-shaped cross section and head and foot cross members for maintaining the side rails in spaced relationship in combination with a decorative strip for bedframes. A U-shaped member having one leg thereof longer than the other is of a resilient material and may have applied thereover a coating of plastic material. The long leg member may be coated on its outer surface by a means which provides a decorative effect to the strip. The short leg of the coated generally U-shaped member may be snap fitted over the upwardly extending leg of the side rail of the bedframe and may be fixedly held in place thereon. The long leg of the generally U- shaped member is adapted to fit flush with or to protrude below the bottom portion of the upwardly extending leg so that when viewed from its side the side rail will be completely hidden and covered by the U-shaped member.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention Decorative bedframe.

Description of the prior art Heretofore, it has been known in the prior art of bedframes for supporting box springs and mattresses that the rails which run the length of the bed, and act as support for the bed spring, give a rather unsightly appearance. When the bed is in general use, the rails which support the box spring and other forms of bed springs are visible unless a bedspread or other type of skirt is applied over the bed or box spring which hangs to the floor. Otherwise the rails or frames are visible to the user.

Over the years, various attempts had been made to add a decorative feature to bedframes, as by providing beautifully grained blocks of wood which are supported on the side rails by means of screws. In this manner the unsightly side rail was covered, in its entire length by this added decroative piece of wood. This particular means of adding a decorative, or finished look, to the bedframe became rather expensive and time consuming to put together since it required an expensive piece of wood which generally had to be hand fastened to the side rail.

Other attempts have been made to provide a decorative finish to a bedframe in such a manner as to provide a slotted wood member which was adapted to fit over the upright portion of the side rail. Here again, a rather expensive, and cumbersome means of providing a decorative look to the side rails was provided.

Further, because of the nature of the material used the decorative wood coverings were and are susceptible to considerable abuse and damage because of their position on the bedframe. The highly decorative wood finishes quite often became scuffed and marred by continual exposure to rough treatment and soon thereafter they themselves became unsightly.

Yet another disadvantage of the prior art means of adding decorative appearance to the bedframe was found 3,546,725 Patented Dec. 15, 1970 in the fact that unless the wood were made of a very high quality and the finish was also of a high quality splinters would be created by the continual use of the side rails and would result in injuries to the user of the bed, particularly with the changing of the sheets and box spring covers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is the general object of the present invention to avoid and overcome the foregoing and other difiiculties in the prior art devices by the provision of an inexpensive and yet beautifully decorated bedframe.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a decorative trim for the side rails of a bedframe which is inexpensive to manufacture and yet is readily applicable to the side rail.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a decorated bedframe having the unsightly side rails hidden from view.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a decorative strip which is releasably fastenable on the side rail of the bedframe and which protrudes below the side rail to completely cover the side rail from sight.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a decorative strip which follows the contour of the side rail and which is releasably fastenable to the side rail.

The above objects and other objects, which will become apparent as the description proceeds, are achieved by providing a bedframe having L-shaped rails for support of a bed spring, and a head cross member and foot cross member supporting said side rails in spaced relationship. A U-shaped member having one long leg and one short leg is provided with a plastic coating, covering the entire surface of the U-shaped member. The U-shaped member may be snapped fastened over the upwardly extending leg of the L-shaped railing such that it covers the normally visible side railing and provides a decorative cover which extends to a point flush with the under side or below the lower edge of the side rail.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS For a better understanding of the present invention reference should be had to the accompanying drawings wherein like numerals of reference indicate similar parts throughout the respective views and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a prospective view of a bedframe construction,

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the side rails with a trim strip fit over the side rail of a bedframe,

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the decorative strip as it relates to the side rail of the bedframe,

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of an alternative embodiment of the decorative trim strip, and

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of another alternative embodiment.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a bedframe is generally shown and may be indicated by the reference numeral 10. The bedframe 10 may be provided with component parts such as a head cross member 1.2 and foot cross member 14. The head cross member 12 and foot cross member 14 may be connected between a pair of railings 16 which are held in spaced relationship by said cross members 12, 14. The side railings 16 and cross members 12, 14 defining a bedframe 10 which may be supported on the floor of a room in any conventional manner.

In order to support a box spring and mattress arrangement or other bed spring arrangement, each railing 16 may be of a general L-shaped cross section. The L-shaped railing 16 may be provided with an upwardly extending leg 22 and a laterally extending leg 24. Although the side railings 16 are shown to have a L-shaped cross section, it is contemplated that an alternative to the laterally extending leg 24 there may be provided laterally extending means such as a series of tabs or protrusions which will accomplish the same functions attributed to the laterally extending leg 24. As shown in FIG. 1, the laterally extending leg 24 may provide the necessary support for the box spring or any other conventional bed spring means. Often, when a box spring is not used, slats (not shown) are extended between the railings 16 and are supported by the laterally extending legs 24 of the railings 16. The bed springs are then placed on the slats (not shown) and thus the bed spring means are maintained in position between the railings 16, head cross member 12 and foot cross member 14.

In most cases, when railings 16 of the type hereinabove described are used, the outer surface 26 of the railings 16 are visible and are generally considered to be rather unsightly. In order to present a more decorative and stylized appearance to the visible portion, outer surface 26, of the upwardly extending leg 22 of the railings 16, a decorative trim strip 28 may be provided which is releasably connectable over and along the length of the upwardly extending leg 22. The trim strip 28 may provide varying degrees of decorative affects such as a wood graining appearance, painted decorator colors, and/or highly ornate designs in practically an infinite number of variations.

Structurally, the trim strip 28 may be comprised of a generally U-shaped resilient member 30 composed of a sturdy material such as spring steel. Other sturdy resilient materials such as metal alloys, foil material, particular compositions of plastic and the like may be used without departing from the essence of the invention. One leg 32 of the U-shaped member 30 may be short whereas the other leg 34 is relatively longer. The length of the other or longer leg 34 is such that if placed against the outer surface 26 of the upwardly extending leg 22 of the railing 16, the lower edge 36 of the longer leg 34 may extend substantially below the lower edge 38 of the railing 16 thereby covering and hiding the outer surface 26 of the rail 16 from any casual observer.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the one leg or short leg 32 may be turned in slightly toward the long leg 34 so that the distance between the lower edge 40 of the short leg 32 and the inner surface 42 of the long leg 34 is slightly smaller than the thickness of the upwardly extending leg 22 of the railing 16. The lower edge 40 of the short leg 32 may be turned outwardly thereby forming a lip 44 which will aid in guiding the upper portion of the U-shaped member 30 over the upper edge 40 of the upwardly extending leg 22 of the rail 16. The upper portion of the U-shaped member 30 therefore will act in the same manner as a spirng clip since the U-shaped member 30 is of a resilient material, the clamping action occurring generally between the lower edge 40 of the short leg 32 and the inner surface 42 of the long leg 34.

A coating layer 48 may be applied to the entire U- shaped member 30, the coating material being of a relatively soft plastic nature. This is particularly the case if the U-shaped member 30 is made of spring steel. The coating layer 48 may be of any particular color and that portion of the coating layer 44 covering the long leg 34 may have applied thereto a decorative design, such as a wood graining effect. The decorative design may be provided on the outer surface 50 of the coating layer 48, since that would be the visible surface of the trip strip 28. The decorative design may be applied to the coating layer 48 in the form of a tape 52 which has the desired ornamental design disposed thereon or may be the coating layer 48 itself. For example, if a single particular color, such as brown, is the desired ornamentation, the pigmentation of the coating layer 48 may be brown; however, if a wood graining affect is the desired ornamentation, an

adhesive backed tape 52 having the design printed thereon may be adhered to the outer surface of the coating layer 48 on the long leg 34. It is contemplated also, that the coating layer 48 itselft may be grained thereby creating the desired ornamental design without the use of the tape 52.

It is preferred, however, to utilize an adhesive backed tape 52 to accomplish the ornamental appearance, since the tape 52 may be made of long wearing material which is durable and washable, such as a vinyl composition.

In order to apply the decorative trim strip 28 to the railing 16, it is merely necessary to place the upper edge 46 of the upwardly extending leg 34 of the railing 16 between the lip 44 at the lower edge 40 of the short leg 32 and the inner surface 42 of the long leg 34 and apply a downward pressure along the top of the trim strip 28. In this manner the entire length of the decorative trim strip 28 will be snap fitted over the entire length of the upper edge 46 of the upwardly extending leg 34. As has been previously described, the top portion of the U-shaped member 30 acts as a spring clip to releasably hold the entire trim strip 28 on the side railing 16. It should be further noted that the lower edge 36 of the long leg 34, and consequently the outer surface 46, may extend substantially below the lower edge 38 of the side railing 16. In this manner the unsightly outer surface 26 of the side rail 16 is completely obscured from the sight of the casual observer, from all angles.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 4, a U-shaped member 30' may be employed, which is composed of a resilient material, and may have applied to the outer surface of the long leg 34' an adhesive backed tape 52 which has a desired ornamental design disposed thereon in this manner it is not necessary to coat the U-shaped member 30, and yet it is possible to decorate the trimstrip 28 to provide the ornamentation as previously described in relation to the preferred embodiment.

A further alternative embodiment is shown in FIG. 5 where the long leg 34" is bent at a right angle so that it snugly fits against the bottom surface of the laterally extending leg 24". In this latter case a U-shaped member 30", which is composed of a resilient material, may have applied to its entire outer surface, of its long leg 34" an adhesive backed tape 52". The tape 52" may have a decorative or ornamental design disposed thereon so that when the U-shaped member is applied to the side railing 16, the outer surface of the upwardly extending leg 22" and the laterally extending leg 24" will be completely covered. Before applying the adhesive backed tape 52", the entire U-shaped member 30 may be coated completely as described in the preferred embodiment.

The means of applying the trim strip 28 is exactly the same, even though the long leg 34" is bent at a right angle. The resiliency of the material used will permit the temporary slight distortion of the U-shaped member 30" without damaging the structure of the trim strip 28".

While in accordance with the patent statutes a preferred embodiment and alternative embodiment have been shown and described in detail, it should be particularly understood that the invention is not limited thereto or thereby.

I claim:

1. In combination a decorative bedframe comprising a pair of side rails, a head cross member and a foot cross member for maintaining said side rails in spaced relationship, each of said side rails being provided with an upwardly extending leg and a laterally extending means, said laterally extending means being adapted to support a bed spring and mattress arrangement, a U-shaped member adapted to be releasably fastened over the upwardly extending leg along the length of each of said side rails, said U-shaped member being provided with one long le-g adapted to extend at least to the bottom of said side rail and to cover the outer surface thereof, and a decorative means disposed on said long leg.

2. The combination according to claim 1 wherein each of said side rails has an L-shaped cross section and is provided with an upwardly extending leg and a laterally extending leg.

3. The combination according to claim 2 wherein said U-shaped member is provided with a short leg and a long leg, the upper portion of said U-shaped member being fastenable over the upper edge of said upwardly extending leg, said long leg being adapted to cover the outer surface of said upwardly extending leg.

4. The combination according to claim 3 wherein said decorative means is an adhesive backed tape which is adapted to be adhered to said long leg of said U-shaped member, said adhesive backed tape being provided with an ornamental design thereon.

5. The combination according to claim 3 wherein said U-shaped member is completely coated with a plastic material.

6. The combination according to claim 5 wherein an adhesive backed tape having an ornamental design disposed thereon is adhered to said long leg of said U-shaped member, over said plastic material.

7. The combination according to claim 6 wherein said long leg of said U-shaped member extends substantially below the laterally extending leg.

8. The combination according to claim 7 wherein said short leg of said U-shaped member is provided with a lower edge, a lip extends outwardly at the lower end of 6 said short leg permitting the up edge of said upwardly extending leg to be guided between the lower edge of said short leg and the inner surface of said long leg whereafter pressure may be applied to the top of said U-shaped member urged the upper portion thereof into a clamping position on said upwardly extending leg.

9. The combination according to claim 3 wherein said long leg is adapted to cover the outer surface of said upwardly extending leg and said laterally extending leg of said side rails.

10. The combination according to claim 9 wherein said decorative means is an adhesive backed tape which is adapted to be adhered to said long leg of said U-shaped member, said adhesive backed tape being provided with an ornamental design thereon.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 710,477 10/ 1902 Littell 5333 2,687,537 8/1954 Wallace et al. S-280 2,951,252 9/ 1960 Roche 5-279 BOBBY R. GAY, Primary Examiner J. C. MITCHELL, Assistant Examiner US. Cl. X.R. 

